


Liar, Liar [You Said You Were Fine]

by The_Little_Sun



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Asgore adopted Undyne, Author should work on other fics, Bad Gaster, But she is tired, Gen, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Torture, Minor Alphys/Undyne, Minor Character Death, Minor Violence, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Sans is older, So have this instead, Updates will be random, Young Papyrus
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-31
Updated: 2016-08-26
Packaged: 2018-07-28 09:05:55
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,695
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7634311
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Little_Sun/pseuds/The_Little_Sun
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sans is a liar. Papyrus knows that, but he does try to avoid holding that against Sans. Papyrus also has secrets. No point in being a hypocrite.</p><p>Unlike Sans, Papyrus' secrets don't involve humans with striped sweaters. At least, not yet.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Dust to Dust

**Author's Note:**

> I'll put a link up to this AU' s creator ASAP.

Papyrus didn't mind having to stay in the Labs after everyone else had left. His older brother, Sans, usually tried to coax him away from their father, but would inevitably return home alone.  Papyrus liked keeping Papa company-even if he occasionally found himself at the mercy of his father's engulfing temper. The occasional mistake or failed experiment caused by the lab assistants, or Doctor Gaster himself, had left the young skeleton with more than his fair share of broken and bruised bones. But it was also the only time that Papyrus was allowed to see his friends.

There was a room that could only be accessed through Papa's office. It was cramped, dusty, and lonely. Papyrus had been locked in there overnight a few times. But that hadn't dissuaded his excitement at being led inside. If he wasn't being punished when allowed in, then that meant there was a friend for him to play with! More often than not, it was a quivering moldsmal or a puzzled froggit, but occasionally Papyrus would get to meet a Woshua and once he was introduced to a Chilldrake. They always seem so nice. It was a shame that they couldn't seem to talk to him as they played.

All they ever did was turn to dust. 

But Papa said that was just what happened, so Papyrus never thought anything of it. It was a little annoying that he had to turn them all the dust first, though. The first time he had been brought to the room, Papa had shown him how to turn his friends into dust and from then on, Papyrus was suppose to do it. If he refused to, Papa would get angry. Papyrus hated seeing his father angry so he tried the best he could. Anything for Papa!

There was a surprise waiting for him when Papa had taken him to the room today. One of the lab assistants was cowering away from the door when they went in. Papyrus didn't really know who it was, but he remembered that the lanky rabbit monster had gotten into a fight with Sans over something. He had been ushered out of the lab before he could figure out what was going on. Sans had refused to tell him anything after he got home and Papa never really talked about work when he was home anyway, so Papyrus was forced to let it go. Seeing the monster shooting a razor-sharp glare at Papa made Papyrus realize that he must have gotten in huge trouble. Papa may not pay much attention to his sons, but he never let anyone get away with giving them grief.

That wouldn't stop Papyrus from rushing up to the scientist and beaming up at him. "Hi!"

The monster looked down at him with a sneer before returning his glare to Papa. "You brought your kid? Are you  _ crazy _ ? I know that you don't care much for your boys, but exposing them to something like this?" When Papa didn't say anything, the scientist snarled down at Papyrus. "Kid, you need to get away from this psycho. He isn't a father if he's going to k-"

Papa had taken a step towards him and that was enough to shut the fuming monster's mouth. Papyrus had back-pedaled away from the venomous words until he was safely behind his father's legs. He peered out from behind, small hands clutching at the thick black material of Papa's trousers. Papa begun to sign something to the now terrified worker. Papyrus couldn't see what he was saying, but the sight of the scientist growing pale was enough. The monster must have done something really wrong to have angered Papa so. 

To his surprise, Papyrus found himself suddenly being dragged back out in front of his father. He looked up into the blank eyes that rarely held anything other than sharp curiosity or cold anger. Papa gestured towards the trembling rabbit before rapidly signing;  _ This is a new friend. Treat him exactly like all the others. _

__ Papyrus' brilliant smile returned in full force. He spun around to the scientist and held out on hand. "We're going to be the best of friends!" Papyrus was practically bouncing from the excitement. The confused expression on the monster rapidly morphed to fear when Papyrus' right eye flared with a light similar to that of an out of control forest fire. The monster's dove grey soul was transformed into a dark blue.

"Kid,  _ wait _ -!"

A series of bones flickered into view above the rabbit's ears. The attacks drove into the monster's body with a sickening crunch. The scientist staggered with the impact before falling to his knees. His eyes flicked up to gaze past Papyrus. There was something in the darkening green gaze that caught the skeleton's attention. The feeling that was being conveyed was all too similar to what Sans' eyes would show after he had drunk too much the night before and Papa was beyond furious with him. Not desperate, not afraid, but almost  _ empty _ . 

"Only the  _ brilliant _ Doctor Gaster would turn his son into- _ ack _ !" The halting, harsh words were cut off when a bone shot out through the scientist's back. Papyrus, suddenly doused in a cold fear, shoved his hands into his sweater pockets. That attack hadn't come from him. 

"Papyrus."

The voice was a quiet whisper. There was a hand on the child's shoulder, fingers digging through the wool of his sweater and into the bone.  _ It hurt _ . Papyrus turned to face his father, but kept his eyes down.

_He_ _failed_.

****  
The former scientist dissolved into dust behind them as Papa led the shivering Papyrus out. 


	2. Into the Breach

Papyrus refused to get out of bed. Everything was stinging in agony and he was pretty sure some of his bones had broken open. When he looked down, he was surprised to see that everything looked perfectly fine. This had been the worst punishment he’s received in months. As much as he hated to admit it, Papyrus had disobeyed Papa. He had known what the consequences would be. He just couldn’t bring himself to turn a friend to dust this time. Something about the whole thing had suddenly seemed...wrong. He didn’t know why, but that was enough doubt to make him hesitate. Sans had said to go with your gut feeling and Papyrus wasn’t to disregard his older brother’s advice.

The monster that had been waiting in the room yesterday had been a scientist that Papyrus had known well. Doctor Kelly was a cat monster with some of the softest fur Papyrus had even felt. When he had been young, the scientist would sweep him into her arms and nuzzle his face before setting him down with a kiss. Papa hadn’t like it, but she had put her hands on her hips and said that she was just filling in the adoring aunt role for his boys. Either way, Papa didn’t stop her. Sans eventually learned how to escape her, but Papyrus liked the attention. 

Turning his attention on her now made him feel sick. She hissed when Papa came into the room and stoutly refused to so much as glance at Papyrus. Her fur was bristling under the dirty lab coat that clung together only thanks to a safety-pin. 

“Papa, why is she here? I’m already friends with her.” Papyrus couldn’t tear his eyes away from the frightened woman in front of him. 

Papa had crouched down to face him.  _ She is not dust, correct?  _

“Well, yeah.”

_ Then you know what you have to do-regardless of your previous relationship. _

__ “But Papa-”

Papyrus was startled backwards by Papa standing back up and looming over him with anger sparking in his eyes. He knew what that meant. He hurried past his father to go and stand by Doctor Kelly. She gave him a brief look that was brimming with sympathy. Papyrus didn’t want to do this. He didn’t want to get punished, either. 

“Sweetie,” Doctor Kelly whispered. Her voice snatched Papyrus’ attention back to her. She was smiling at him. “Have you turned other monsters to dust?”

Papyrus nodded. 

Her smile slipped and she turned to glare at Papa. He remained impassive. “Papyrus, don’t you know what turning someone to dust means?”

That was an easy question. “It’s how you play with others! But only sometimes, if you have permission.” Papyrus beamed. Perfect answer!

Doctor Kelly’s expression twisted into something unrecognizable. “No, Papyrus. That’s a lie.”

A...lie? 

“Papa would never lie to me!” 

Right?

Doctor Kelly must have noticed the conflict on his face because she scooted closer and wrapped her arms around him. “Shh, sweetie. The truth always comes at a price. Unfortunately, it looks like you’re the one who has been paying much too dearly.”

The soft embrace didn’t last. The scientist was ripped away from him with a shriek. Papyrus could only stand and watch as Doctor Kelly summoned her magic. Pink light twisted through the air, but faded before solidifying into anything. There was a wet gurgle then she slumped to the ground. Papyrus fly to her side and saw that her neck had been ripped open. She faded to dust that collected on his clothes. A heavy sense of guilt clung to him. Doctor Kelly was spread across the floor and piled in his hands and  _ it was all his fault _ . The earlier stomach-twisting nausea rose up in his throat. He had disobeyed Papa’s orders again.

He heard the door open and close. Was he being left overnight? Papyrus could handle that. Sans always threw a fit the next day, but it was easy to distract him. He went over and tried the handle. The door opened with little difficulty. Papa had been too upset to even drag him out of the room. That meant Papyrus had really screwed up.

“Papa?” Papyrus stuck his head into the office, but there was no one there. He crept out, a sudden flurry of nerves making his nonexistent stomach twist. “Papa, are you there?”

He tried leaving and found that the door leading to the hallway was unlocked as well. Papyrus thought about waiting in Papa’s office, but quickly had changed his mind. When he walked past a crossroad that split off towards the public labs, he felt someone grab him. There was a flare of sudden pain before everything exploded into white. The blinding brightness slowly faded into painless darkness.

* * *

 

Papyrus had woken up back in his own bed at home. The fact that he couldn’t remember anything from the previous night scared him. Clearly, Papa had brought him home, but was Sans here? Had he seen the shape Papyrus had been in? It must have been pretty bad. 

“Pap? You awake?”

Bounding out of bed, Papyrus immediately threw open the door to his room. He instantly regretted the decision since the movement jarred his injuries. More still, Sans had swept into the room and grabbed him in a bear hug. Papyrus felt like crying.

“Sans! I can’t breathe!”

“Oh, sorry, bro.” Sans let him down, but kept a hand on his head. His grin looked wider this morning. “Guess what today is?”

Papyrus rubbed his eyes with a hand and shrugged. He had no idea. With a yelp, Papyrus dodged out of another surprise hug. Sans grinned and caught his little brother in another hug. He gave the squirming kid a squeeze. Papyrus went limp in an effort to keep the pressure off his injuries. “Sans, seriously!”

“Happy birthday,” Sans sang as he twirled Papyrus around. “You’re the impressive age of seven, now!”

Great. Of course it’d be his birthday-the day that is suppose to be the best of the year-and he wants to scream every time he so much as breathes. Papyrus was dropped back onto his bed. He watched Sans dig around in his lab coat pockets before he produced a poorly wrapped gift. It was pressed into his hands. 

Sans smiled sheepishly. “Sorry it’s not well wrapped. I was in a rush this morning since I found it in the dump last night.”

Papyrus only beamed and tore off the stained paper to stare at his present with awe. It was a hastily constructed journal made of various loose-leaf paper that were all different lengths and sizes. In sweeping handwriting, ‘Papyrus’ had been written on the front. Papyrus happily flipped through it. The very last page caught his attention. There was scrawled;  _ You’re the coolest brother in the whole world. I love you. Sans. _

Papyrus carefully put the journal next to him before leaning to Sans and giving him a quick hug. “Thank you, Sans! I’ll always treasure it!” That seemed to make Sans happy.

Sans and Papyrus went downstairs together. Papa was sitting at the dining table and looked up at his two boys. After sharing a smile with his father, Sans spun around to excitedly grab Papyrus’ shoulders. “You won’t believe what Dad said you’re present will be!”

Papyrus ignored the small trickle of fear. “Oh yeah?”

“Yeah! He said that you could come to work today and that I could show you what we’ve been working on!”

“That’s so cool! Thank you, Papa.”

Papa nodded before turning back to scribbling on some papers. Sans helped Papyrus get some breakfast and excitedly explained some of his project as they ate. When Papa got up to wash his mug, Sans snatched the rest of the dishes from the table. Papyrus protested at that since he hadn’t finished his cereal, but let it go when he saw how excited Sans was. He had been looking down lately, so who was Papyrus to go and ruin his happy mood?   


Papa left while Papyrus was searching for socks. When he finally found a matching pair, he set off to the Labs with Sans. Sans was chatting about some stuff that had happened at work the past few days while they walked. Papyrus loved seeing his brother happy, but golly, was he a sudden chatterbox. 

The Labs loomed over most of the other sparse buildings in Hotland. The white brick building had always sent chills down Papyrus’ spine. Sans held the door open for him then followed him inside. They went down a hallway that Papyrus hadn’t noticed before. At the end was a black door that slid to the side when Sans waved his pass over a black box on the wall. 

Sans dramatically waved at the room they entered. “Welcome to the Time Lab!” 

“Whoa!” 

The room was still as white as the rest of the building, but charts and equations covered the walls and whiteboards. In the center of the floor sat a large machine that hummed slightly. It was sleek and had small black and purple buttons along one side. It kind of reminded Papyrus of an egg.

“It’s not actually called that, but whatever. It sounds a lot cooler.” Papyrus approached the machine and reached out to touch it, but Sans yelped and lunged forward. He grabbed Papyrus’ scarf and hauled him away. “Don’t touch that! It might be dangerous right now. Dad must had activated it when he got here.”

Papa choose that moment to walk in. He looked at Papyrus in surprise before schooling his features back into an impassive mask. He ignored the boys and strode to a whiteboard and began copying some equations into a notebook. Sans immediately appeared at his side to watch. Papyrus choose to wander around and see what else the room had. 

There was nothing interesting other than the machine. 

“What is it suppose to do?” Papyrus had found a stool and he had claimed it.

Sans looked up from some papers that he had been given. “Sort of like a time machine, but not exactly.”

“So I can go back in time and see the dinosaurs?”

_ Certainly not. It does not work at this moment and even when it does work, it won’t be used for such trivial purposes. _

“Sorry, bro. Maybe the next machine will.”

Papyrus hopped of the stool to get a closer look at the machine. “So if it doesn’t send you back in time, what does it do?”

Sans shared a glance with Papa before grabbing a whiteboard marker and erasing some meaningless scribbles from a board. “Think of it like this. This is us.” Sans drew a circle. “This is another time-or dimension.” He drew another circle away from the original. “This machine is going to bridge the gap between dimensions.” A line was drawn to connect the two circles. “The problem is that we have no idea how many or what the other dimensions are like. There could be one just like ours, or maybe even one where we’re on the surface, or maybe we are all underwater. The thing is each dimension has its own signature. In order to connect dimensions, we have to be able to identify the signature and replicate it. The machine will allow you to plug in signature equations. It will, hopefully, lock on to the signature and be able to safely recreate itself in the correct dimension with whatever is inside it.” 

“Okay.” Papyrus only understood about half of what Sans was saying, but it was all very interesting! “So if someone got inside it, you’d be able to move to another dimension?”   


“Right.”

Papyrus looked at the machine. “That’s pretty awesome.”

“Right?” Sans turned to glance over something Papa held out to him. 

“So what are you trying to do now?”   


Sans snatched the paper and glared at it. “We’re trying to recreate a signature of a dimension that we think is practically the same as ours, just a good few years in the future.” Sans scribbled at something. He grabbed a blank piece of paper and hastily began writing equations. 

Papyrus went over to peek at what he was doing. “Is something wrong?”

_ Nothing that we haven’t expected.  _

“I don’t know, Dad. This is nothing like the equations we’ve come up with it. Maybe there’s something-”

A loud screech interrupted him. Everyone spun around to stare at the machine. It emitted another ear-piercing shriek. Papa and Sans both began to look panicky. Papa sprinted to the other side of the room to tap at a computer. Sans grabbed Papyrus’ hand and began to drag him away.    


“What’s going on?”

Sans ignored the question. Papyrus tore away from his brother’s grip and backed away. Sans had a wild look in his eye that was beginning to frighten him. “Sans?”

“Papyrus, c’mon! It’s not safe for you! You need to leave!”

Papyrus stayed out of Sans’ reach and stepped back. “You’re scaring me.”

Sans looked between Papyrus and Papa. A determined expression overtook the scary one and he stepped out to grab Papyrus again. “You need to leave! R I G H T N O W.”

Papyrus jerked back and felt himself stumble. He let out a cry.

“Papyrus!”

_ Papyrus! _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh no!


	3. E C H O

Even on the surface, Papyrus was to report to Undyne’s house at exactly seven every other day for some special cooking lessons. They had yet to burn down her house, but it was thanks to the human’s technology than anything else. The lessons were no less brutal for the poor dish they were preparing. At least Alphys was living with Undyne and had learned to be prepared to step in with a fire extinguisher when things took a heated turn.

Today’s lesson had been extraordinarily laborious. All because of the homemade noodles. Who would have guessed? Papyrus barely had the energy to make it back to the house he shared with his brother. The stairs were another challenge, but it was all worth it to flop into the racecar bed that Sans had made sure was brought up from the Underground. Papyrus misjudged the length of his fall and ended up smacking his back against the wall. 

The wall shook with the force and the shelves rattled. To his surprise, a box fell to the floor next to him. The contents of the small cardboard box were dumped all over the floor. Papyrus slid off the bed to investigate. It was mostly old books that were stained from their time in the garbage dump as well as a few broken action figures. But what really caught his attention was a battered pile of papers, barely held together by thin string that looped through holes along the sides. 

It had been a long time since he’d seen his journal.

With shaking hands, Papyrus picked up the delicate bundle and set it in his lap. The writing on the cover had long since faded away. Papyrus wasn’t sure whether he wanted to read it. It took a great deal of hesitation before he gently turned to the first page. 

**Month X, XXXX**

It’s my seventh birthday today. That means that [word is scibbled out] has a special surprise for me! I had been a little worried that everyone had forgotten today. Sans and [word is unintelligible] have been so busy at the labs. They are rarely home and even when they are, they are excitedly talking to each other and making plans for their experiment. But everyone remembered my birthday! Sans even made me this journal! I can add more paper if I even run out of room, isn’t that cool? Oh, [word is scribbled out] wants me. I bet that means I’ll get that surprise! [The rest of the page is blank.]

Papyrus wanted to stop. He knew what was going to happen. And if his memory was even the tiniest bit correct, it was only pain and agony. His hand turned to the next page without his permission and he found himself reading with a growing sense of dread.

**Month X, XXXX**

[Word is unintelligible] lied. He lied to me. I can’t believe it. He actually expected me to think [the next couple of sentences are smeared and unreadable]. I TRUSTED HIM! I can’t tell Sans, no no no. He won’t hurt him, no he wouldn’t hurt the perfect son, the one that isn’t a disappointment. But I can’t, oh stars. What did I do wrong? Maybe...maybe this is my fault? I don’t know what to think anymore. But I can’t do what he wants me to do. I CAN’T. I didn’t know that I was hurting people, oh stars, I didn’t know. I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. Oh stars, what do I do? [The rest of the page is repeated apologies and scribbling.]

Papyrus chucked the journal away. It thudded against the far wall and exploded into a mess of papers.  _ He remembered _ . He never forgot. There was something hot dribbling down his cheek and when he brushed a gloved hand against his face, there was a small wet spot. Papyrus knew that he wasn’t that far from breaking down and sobbing. Why had he kept that horrid thing? He had to get rid of it. Destroy the memories of pain and confusion and such  _ terror _ . Preferably before Sans finds it. 

Papyrus climbed to his feet and went to scoop up all the papers. A few fluttered from the pile, but Papyrus was too focused on opening the door without any free hands to notice. He had to turn the doorknob with his teeth to actually get it to open. The hallway was dark, but he could see blue light at the end. Sans had been watching TV when he had come in so either he was still engrossed in the documentary on submarines or he had nodded off. It didn’t matter as long as he didn’t notice the overflowing pile of loose paper in Papyrus’ arms. The tall, not very inconspicuous skeleton crept into the living room and made a beeline for the front door. He didn’t get very far.

“Hey, bro,” Sans mumbled from the couch, “where are you off too?”

“Just cleaning!” Papyrus realized that there was no way he could hide such a large amount of paper from Sans. “Can’t be letting everything get messy just because I’m tired from cooking!”

Sans peered over the pillow in his arms. He frowned. “That’s a lot of paper. What were you doing with it?”   


“Nothing at the moment.” Papyrus gestured towards some of the still unpacked boxes crowding the kitchen. “Just found it in an unopened box.”

Sans nodded and dropped his head back onto the pillow. “Hm. If you see Frisk outside, tell them hi for me.”

“Will do, brother!” Papyrus had to open the door with his new technique before toeing it open. He stepped outside and took a big breath. The air was completely different on the surface. Compared to the stale Underground that usually had a mineraly scent, the air up here was fresh and told of grass and flowers. It was relaxing, but still unfamiliar. Sometimes, Papyrus would forget his was on the surface and the second he stepped outside the door, he would be blindsided by the sun’s light and the crisp breeze. It was wonderful.

He had to walk down the driveway to get to the garbage can. The yard was fenced in with a rickety wooden fence that might have been white previously but was now brown. Undyne and Alphys lived across the street, Toriel and Frisk lived next door on the left, and Asgore lived next door to the right. It was nice to be surrounded by familiar faces in such a new and still hostile world. Actually, it looked like the monster king was busy watering his flowers. 

“Good afternoon, your majesty,” Papyrus called.

Asgore glanced up and smiled at him. “Hello Papyrus. Did you and my daughter set anything alite today?”

“Not today! Alphys jumped in before we could.”

Asgore chuckled-a deep, vibrating sound. “I’m glad that the Doctor is around to supervise you two.”

_ Doctor.  _ The word sent chills down Papyrus’ spine. He couldn’t help but wince. Asgore looked at him with a note of concern. No, no, no. He was being too transparent. Papyrus hurriedly dumped what remained of his journal into the garbage and began to head back to the house.

“I won’t bother you anymore. Have a wonderful day, your majesty!” Papyrus may have slammed the door a bit too hard behind him. He leaned back against it and rubbed a hand over his face. He had managed to avoid any reaction to Sans and his past, but a simple, stupid word broke through. Maybe it was because he was rattled from reading the journal. Yes, that had to have been it. With it gone, Papyrus would be able to have his barriers up and avoid having Sans find anything should he decide to snoop. Perfect!

“Holy shit! Papyrus, get up here!”

Sans sounded excited. Papyrus wasted no time in marching down the hall and opening the door to Sans’ room. He was just about to tell him to watch his language when he noticed a familiar red object.

Holy shit was right.

  
  
  



	4. R E F L E C T I O N

The fact that Papyrus was staring at an exact clone of himself only younger was rather surprising. Not to mention the fact that the little copy looked to be about six or seven-an age that Papyrus really, really did not need a reminder of. So while Sans excitedly buzzed about, asking question after question, Papyrus stood in the doorway looking lost. 

“So, you’re what, five?”

Little Papyrus had scooted back into a corner of Sans’ room. He was huddled in the cleanest spot on the floor, hidden away behind the nasty mattress that Sans refused replace. His face appeared to be stuck in a state of shock. Sans didn’t seem to realize that the child wasn’t responding. 

“You look just like Pap, so you must be him. But where’d you come from? I hadn’t noticed anything while…” Sans trailed off with a nervous glance back at Papyrus-who had yet to move from the doorway. “Uh, I mean, kid? Are you alright?”

Little Papyrus had started shaking as Sans’ spoke. Tears were gathering in his eyes. Sans stepped forward, all earlier excitement gone. The child skittered back, his breathing picking up into frantic gasps. Papyrus lurched forward and swept him into his arms.  At first, little Papyrus struggled to escape the tight grip, but eventually went limp. Papyrus stared down at the quiet bundle of bones in his arms and frowned.

“Are you alright?” The child refused to say a word or even look up at Papyrus. There was a loud sniffle. 

Sans came over and exchanged a worried glance with his brother. “There’s no need to be upset, kiddo. I mean, we aren’t gonna hurt you. I mean, this must be scary. Being in another time-I mean, being somewhere different. That must be pretty upsetting. Um, but don’t worry, it’ll be okay. Yeah. I’m sure we can find some way to get you back. Er, yeah.”

“Sans.”

“Maybe we should call you LP? You know, like Little Papyrus, but shorter? To keep it different from you and this Pap. That makes sense, right? So LP works. Okay, um-”

“ _ Sans. _ ”

“What?”

“Thank you, but you appear to be overwhelming him.”

Sans’ face dropped. He backed away and plopped down onto his mattress. Papyrus gave him a small smile before looking back at the shivering child in his arms. He sat down and let go of LP. He quickly went back to his original spot behind the mattress. Papyrus frowned. “I know this must be scary, but we need you to talk to us. What if I asked you questions and you either shake or nod your head?”

To his surprise, LP nodded. 

“Great!” Papyrus clapped his hands and smiled. “This is an easy one, okay? Is your name Papyrus?” A nod. “And you have a brother?” Another nod. “Is his name Sans?” This time there was a small smile accompanying the nod. 

To be honest, Papyrus didn’t really know what else to ask with Sans in the same room. He wanted to know if LP had gone through all the experiments at the hands of Doctor Gaster. LP had a faint scar beside his left eye which Papyrus remembered getting from a “friend”. So the poor child  _ must _ be going through some of the experiments. Did he know what he was doing? Or was it early enough that LP honestly thought he was making friends?

“Do you where you are?” Sans asked. LP began to shake his head before a confused expression crossed his face. He shrugged.  “Sorry, kid, but that isn’t any help.”

“Sans,” Papyrus scolded with a half-hearted glare. 

LP’s face brightened into a grin. He began to giggle, but slapped a hand over his mouth and gave the two brothers a nervous look. He stared down at the floor before meeting Papyrus’ gaze and quietly said, “Sans and I argue too. He’s too silly for a serious conversation, though.”

Sans and Papyrus stared at the kid in surprise before Sans erupted into laughter and Papyrus smiled. “He never changes.” Papyrus warned. 

“That’s true.” Sans’ smile dipped into a slight frown. “I do still have some questions. Why are you here? And  _ how _ ?”

LP immediately beamed. “Because of Papa and Sans!”

_ Papa? _ Papyrus felt his heart sink at the word. Nevermind the panicked look Sans gave him. But could Papyrus really blame him? He didn’t know that he remember their father and all of his work. Shivers crawled up his spine just thinking about him. 

“How about we talk about this later? It’s almost dinner time, so why don’t we get some grub then worry about all this?” Sans was still looking at him like that. LP had even noticed and was looking between the two in confusion. 

_ Sorry, LP, but you don’t really improve your relationship with Sans, _ Papyrus wanted to explain.  _ Not just that, but your father is lying to you. Everyone around you is only using you. And that doesn’t change, not even when you’re an adult. _ There was no need to be laying such heavy information on his younger self’s shoulders. Not yet at least.

LP looked excited at the prospect of food, so they all went to the kitchen to whip something up. Sans had been concerned that LP would be unable to eat anything too rich, although he avoided answering when asked why. Papyrus had only rolled his eyes then went to dig around the cabinets for canned soup. He could hear Sans and LP chatting about nothing in particular. It was mostly Sans asking LP questions in exchange for short, simple answers. Possibly because he didn’t trust them? 

Papyrus found a can of chicken noodle soup. When he spun around, can held triumphantly in one hand, Sans had come over and explained he’d cook. Papyrus was immediately suspicious-and not without a tinge of guilt. 

“Are you sure? I’d hate to have you accidentally burn something.”

“Relax,” Sans scoffed, “I can handle heating up some soup. Besides, I think LP would be a lot more comfortable talking to you. Maybe try to get some answer out of him?”

Oh. “Clever! I most definitely will try.” How stupid of him to get suspicious of Sans! Any lingering doubt was swamped by shame. Papyrus went to go sit next to LP. 

“Sans hasn’t been showing off his jokes, has he?”

LP giggled and nodded. “They’re the exact same ones!”

Papyrus sighed dramatically. “He refuses to get new jokes. And his puns are even worse.” When LP was silent, Papyrus looked over to see that he had curled up against his side. “Is everything alright?”

“Did Papa take you to the room?”

Shocked, Papyrus stared down at LP in silence. It hadn’t even been a hour and this was already being brought up? “We can’t talk about that right now, not with Sans right there.”

“Why?”

“Because he can’t know about that.”

LP’s expression morphed into confusion. “He doesn’t know? You didn’t tell him?”

“Please, not right now.” Papyrus happened to look up and notice Sans struggling to get bowls down from a high shelf. “Promise me you won’t say anything to Sans.”

“P-promise.” Papyrus couldn’t help the breath of relief as he went to aid Sans. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was a bitch to write. Oh well.   
> I was messing around for names for LP and for some reason LP just sounded really cute.


End file.
